Wonderful little thickets of seedlings growing along the banks of the creek may well be part of that riparian corridor many, many years from now. On our walk that day I saw the future and it looked good. The dogs, however, live in the present and we moved on.

And while we’re on the subject, our Mexican campion is the subspecies greggii. So it is Silene laciniata ssp. greggii. Phew!

They are attracted to the red fruit and not bothered by the intense heat, they help spread seed while enjoying the fruit. Thank you, birds.

You don't need a truck load of plants to help you get into the hills and now is an excellent time to hit the sky islands. See you there?

I read (research!) that the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) is more common around us than the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata). Cool! Live and learn.

Bush muhly is the species Muhlenbergia porteri. There are over 40 species of muhlys found in Arizona and the southwest.…

Oops, almost forgot; the photos of the Lesser Long-nosed bat (pants on) and the Mexican Long-tongued bat (skirt on) are by my friend Ken Lamberton, naturalist and author.

“What is that pink flowering bush along the road and on the hills?” And some folks mistakenly call it fairy duster.

There are eleven species of goldenrod found in Arizona and you can find a species somewhere in the state from 2,000’ to 9,500’ in elevation. So no matter where you live in the state you can blame your fall allergies on a Solidago species. Ha!

but listen, some ancient Egyptian horticulturist probably took an edible “weed” and started cultivating it. We can only guess.